Interview Preparation
One: The resume
Of course, bring a couple of copies, and be sure to read your resume before the interview, so you're completely familiar with everything you've written. Nothing is more embarrassing (or potentially fatal to your candidacy) than being quizzed on some aspect of your background that appears on the bottom of page two -- and not being able to remember the details.
You might also bring materials which would be particularly good at illustrating an important aspect of your work, such as creative designs, writing samples, and so forth. Just remember to use your better judgment.
Be careful, though, not to overdo it with the props. College diplomas, letters of commendation, and company bowling trophies should be left at home. When in doubt, just bring your resume and your business card -- they're the most important props you'll ever need.
Two: Appropriate dress and appearance
Dress professionally for the interview. Remember that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Your appearance should be neat and clean, pressed and polished. Conservative business attire is appropriate for most settings.
Three: Directions to the interview location
Try to get directions at least a day before your interview, so you don't get lost and arrive late. And here's a tip: Always bring some cash to pay for parking. Never ask an employer to validate your parking stub, or reimburse you for parking. Not only is it impolite, you'll create a negative impression, since it's considered common courtesy to pay your own expenses for a local interview.
If you're coming from out of town, then it's especially important to get directions. Naturally, if the expenses for your interviewing trip are going to be covered by the employer, wait until the interview has concluded (or better yet, the next day) to settle up. Usually, the company will prepay the air fare, or other major expenses, and will reimburse you for the rest, such as your car rental, cab fare, hotel room, and meals. It's customary that you pick up certain non-essential expenses, such as long distance phone calls from your hotel room or the bar tab from the lounge in the hotel lobby.
The best time to arrive for an interview is precisely when you're scheduled, not early or late. It can irk an employer to be told that the candidate for a 2 o'clock appointment is waiting in the lobby at one thirty-five. The employer will either become distracted knowing there's someone hanging around waiting to see him, or he'll scramble to rearrange his schedule to accommodate the candidate, which disrupts the rest of his day. If your appointment is at two, then arrive at two.
If for some reason you're running late, call ahead to ask if you can reschedule for later the same day, or if not, later in the week. If something unexpected happens that you have no control over, simply explain the situation to the employer when you arrive.
Four: Name and title of the interviewer(s) When you arrange the interview, find out who you'll be talking to, and what their function is within the company. Will you be speaking with the hiring manager? The manager from another department? The personnel director?
You might already know the person. If that's the case, you're ahead of the game. If not, send out feelers among your own contacts within your industry, or look in your industry's trade publications to see if the person you're going to be meeting is distinguished in any way.
Five: Understanding the company's hiring procedure
To correctly gauge the sequence of events surrounding or following your first interview, ask these questions:
- Can you describe to me, step by step, the hiring procedure for this position? . This is important to ask, because you want to find out if (and when) the company needs to schedule a second or third level interview. Some companies will make hiring decisions on the spot; others will take months of meetings and endless signatures to process a simple request for a second interview.
- Will I be asked to take any tests? . And if so, what are they, and how long will they take to administer? Some companies, for many of thier professional positions, requires candidates to take a one-hour math and abstract reasoning test. Some companies require a full day of psychological, aptitude, technical skill, and intelligence testing. With most companies, failure to pass the tests means automatic elimination from consideration. Most drug tests are simply referred to as "physicals," and may take several days to schedule and process.
- How long will it take before you reach a decision? This will help you measure your progress through the hiring process, and could spare you from getting the jitters if you don't hear something immediately. One of our new clients was taking a long time to make a decision whether to bring back one of our candidates for a second interview. We later found in our notes that the company was right on schedule; they'd communicated up front that it would take them several weeks to reach a decision. As it turns out, the candidate had no reason to worry.
- Who will be making the hiring decision? Find out if the decision will be made by a committee. If it is, must the committee come to a unanimous agreement? Or, will the decision be based on the recommendation of a single person?
Six: Background Information on the company.
While the amount of background information you can gather about a company is practically endless, it would be ludicrous to try to become a walking encyclopedia of corporate trivia. By arriving for your interview adequately briefed, you'll make a strong impression on the interviewer. Best of all, you can spend your interviewing time discussing your background and the company's needs, not the corporate biography, or company financial report.
Seven: A complete list of questions you want to ask During the course of an interview, your dialogue with the other person will spawn a number of questions spontaneously. However, there may be important issues to discuss which will never come up unless you take the initiative. For that reason, you should bring a list of questions with you that will address these issues, so that you don't leave the interview uninformed.
Pre-planned questions can be grouped into four different categories:
- Company questions deal with the organization, direction, policies, stability, growth, market share, and new products or services of the prospective company or department;
- Industry questions deal with the health, growth, change, technological advancement, and personnel of the industry as a whole;
- Position questions deal with the scope, responsibilities, travel, compensation policies, and reporting structure of the position you're interviewing for; and
- Opportunity questions deal with your own potential for growth or advancement within the company or its divisions, and the likely timetable for promotion.
You may have specific interests or concerns surrounding topics in each category. If that's the case, you might want to prepare a carefully worded question that deals with that issue.